Murder-suicide puts spotlight on domestic violence

Investigators inspect the crime scene at 1513 10th Street in Harvard where two teenagers were found dead early Thursday morning.

HARVARD – Miguel Andrade had a history of domestic altercations with the mother of his child, Jackie Flores, leading up to Thursday’s murder-suicide that left both dead in a Harvard neighborhood.

Representatives from Turning Point, McHenry County’s only domestic violence agency, want those in abusive relationships to know there are resources available to victims and abusers in hopes of bringing an end to the type of violence that took place in Harvard.

“[Domestic violence] is a huge problem,” said Jane Farmer, executive director of Turning Point. “It’s not just in our county. It’s a huge problem everywhere. And it’s not talked about enough.”

There were 651 cases filed in McHenry County that contained domestic violence charges in 2012, down from 724 cases in 2011, according to the McHenry County Circuit Clerk. As of Friday, there were 377 cases this year, which is on pace to surpass 2012’s mark.

Turning Point provides shelter, food, clothing, child care, job assistance, school supplies and other assistance to women and their children who are in abusive relationships.

Farmer said there are also Partner Abuse Intervention Programs available for the abusers in a domestic violence situation. The majority of men in the programs are court-ordered to attend, but Farmer said roughly 40 percent enroll voluntarily.

Farmer said women need to be aware of the signs of domestic violence and not be afraid to report it.

“If he’s crowding her, restricting where she can go, calling her 15 times on the phone when she’s only been gone an hour. All of those are big signs,” Farmer said.

“Some women say, ‘He hit me last night, and he’s nice to me the next day. It’s not a problem. I don’t want to tell people about it because he might not hit me again.’ It’s an ongoing issue we have to keep speaking out about,” she said.

Using a key, Andrade entered Flores’s home around 1 a.m. Thursday where Flores, the couple’s 9-month-old baby and Flores’s mother were sleeping, according to Michael Combs. criminal division chief for the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office. Andrade demanded to see the baby and began pointing a gun at the child and at Flores.

Flores’s mother took the baby and fled the home.

Andrade shot Flores once in her home. The bullet hit her wrist and head but did not penetrate her skull, Combs said.

Flores then fled the home and was chased by Andrade through the neighborhood. Several neighbors said they heard screaming and said Flores was banging on neighbors’ doors. She was eventually chased into a neighbor’s yard and shot fatally in the head, Combs said.

Andrade then shot himself in the head as police arrived at the scene. A .22-caliber revolver was recovered near him.

Combs said he believes the child is living with Flores’s mother.

Andrade, 19, was taken to Mercy Harvard Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Flores, a 17-year-old senior at Harvard High School, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Andrade had threatened to kill Flores more than six months ago, according to court records. He was arrested Jan. 13 and charged with misdemeanor counts of endangering the life of a child, assault, harassment through electronic communication and battery.

In January, Andrade reportedly chased Flores outside while threatening to kill her. He also threatened to kill another woman through text message, court records show. He also pulled the hair of the woman and took his infant daughter outside with only a blanket around the waist while chasing Flores and threatening her.

Andrade failed to appear in court, and the judge ultimately forfeited his bond on June 19, according to court records. There has been an active warrant for Andrade’s failure to appear on those charges since May 8.